We spoke with Trewin Restorick, founder and CEO of award-winning environmental charity, Hubbub, about a move towards a service-based business model to allow customers to keep coming back rather than the standard ‘one off sale’ approach we are so used to in the world of fast fashion and produce.

I have been an environmental entrepreneur for 35 years creating businesses that take sustainability messages to a mainstream organisation in a way that is fun, practical and engaging. Eight years ago I created Hubbub an award-winning environmental charity that partners with major companies such as Starbucks and IKEA to deliver ground-breaking impactful campaigns. Through these partnership we have built a network of 250 Community Fridges across the UK freely redistributing perishable food that would have been wasted, we have set up a national network for recycling coffee cups and have redistributed over 10,000 surplus smart phones alongside free data to people who were digitally isolated.

I have been asked to help a range of celebrities green their lifestyles which has resulted in persuading a leading world cup soccer player to set up a wormery in their home, riding a tandem sponsored cycle ride with a Bond actress and discovering that a fashion editor at a leading women’s magazine was using so much water for her domestic laundry that she received a warning from the local water company.

The UN has issue a ‘code red’ warning to the world that we are on a path that is not sustainable. This will directly impact our communities, disrupt business and lead to more extreme weather events. Immediate action is required to cut carbon emissions, create a more circular economy and reduce pollution. Businesses that embrace this agenda will be creative, build resilience, grow their customer base and attract the best talent.

I think all businesses will need to start re-imagining how they operate. Exploring how they can create a model that slashes carbon emissions, builds a circular approach and cuts pollution. This could result in a more ‘service based’ approaches with a longer-term relationship with customers rather than a ‘one-off’ sales model.

The biggest difference people can make in the short-term is to think about their food purchases and diet. If food waste was a country it would be the world’s third biggest emitter of carbon dioxide so cutting food waste makes a massive difference financially and environmentally. Shifting to a more protein diverse diet with less reliance on meat and dairy will also drastically cut carbon emissions.

Join us at the Green Summit in September 2022 with Steve Wozniak.